Ben James Winer (June 18, 1917 – May 30, 1984) was an American research psychologist and academic. He served as a psychology professor at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and was president of the

Psychometric Society The Psychometric Society is an international nonprofit professional organization devoted to the advancement of quantitative measurement practices in psychology, education, and the social sciences. The society publishes a scientific journal called ...

. He has been listed as one of the most highly cited psychologists in the United States, having authored a well-known textbook on statistical analysis.

Biography

Born in Oregon, Winer attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and he served as a personnel research bureau assistant for the psychology department head, Howard Taylor. He earned a master's degree in psychology from Oregon in 1940 before serving in the military for five years. He held positions with the

United States Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States. It was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of ...

and

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

while he took evening graduate courses in statistics at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. After briefly attending graduate school at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, Winer went to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, where he earned a Ph.D. in

industrial psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...

in 1951. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and he received joint teaching appointments in statistics and psychology at

in 1954. He had a full-time appointment in the psychology department by 1956, but statistical analysis remained a strong area of emphasis for him. Working with Andrew Halpin, Winer studied behavioral approaches to leadership. They concluded that two concepts, ''initiating structure'' and ''consideration'', characterized the behavior of successful leadership. Winer was the 1967-68 president of the

. In 1983, he received a Quantitative Methods Teaching Award from the

American Psychological Foundation The American Psychological Foundation (abbreviated APF) is an American philanthropic organization dedicating to awarding research grants to psychologists in the early stages of their careers. It is affiliated with the American Psychological Assoc ...

. He authored an influential textbook, ''Statistical Principles in Experimental Design''. The book was reviewed in journals including ''

Educational and Psychological Measurement ''Educational and Psychological Measurement'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of educational psychology. The journal's editor-in-chief is George A. Marcoulides (University of California, Santa Barbara). It was e ...

'', ''Ergonomics'' and the ''

Journal of the American Statistical Association The ''Journal of the American Statistical Association'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the American Statistical Association. It covers work primarily focused on the application of statis ...

''. In 2002, Winer was ranked fourth on a list of American psychologists most frequently cited in the professional literature; ''Statistical Principles in Experimental Design'' remains his most cited work by far. Upon his death, Winer left a gift to Purdue to further the study of

mathematical psychology Mathematical psychology is an approach to psychology, psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, thought, Cognition, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifi ...

. The university established a memorial lecture series in his honor. A distinguished professorship at the school was named after him in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winer, Ben J. 1917 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American psychologists Psychometricians University of Oregon alumni Ohio State University Graduate School alumni Princeton University alumni Purdue University faculty Educators from Oregon